ScreenwritingU sat down with The Secret Life of Pets screenwriter Brian Lynch to find out his secret to balancing lightness and darkness in family-focused movies. But before we could get into the nitty-gritty of storytelling, Lynch revealed to us that he was almost a cartoonist – not a screenwriter. Ironically enough, a can of cat food changed the course of his career forever.

A master storyteller when it comes to action adventure films, Steven Spielberg is the best when it comes to learning the craft of telling good stories. We took a look at his latest film The BFG to give you seven ways to get all Spielbergian on your script.

The Angry Birds Movie won the box office last weekend, earning nearly $40 million, according to Box Office Mojo. If you think the gaming industry doesn’t affect your career as a screenwriter – think again.
If you haven’t played the video game Angry Birds on your smartphone or tablet, it’s likely your child or one you know has. The ...

Do you have an idea about creating an expansive world for your screenplay? Perhaps you want to invent a world as massive as Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings. Screenwriter Tom Rogers goes through the process step-by-step as he worked with the writers and animators at Disney Pictures to develop the animated world of the new Tinker Bell series...

Screenwriter Jeff Howard is making quite a name for himself in the world of animation. He’s written two Tinker Bell movies, as well as The Pirate Fairy, the first Planes and Pixie Hollow Games.
But he wasn’t always part of the “story trust,” as it’s called at Disney, now that they’ve adopted the Pixar story development process known ...

Screenwriter Jeff Howard is making quite a name for himself in the world of animation. He’s written two Tinker Bell movies, as well as The Pirate Fairy, the first Planes and Pixie Hollow Games.
But he wasn’t always part of the “story trust,” as it’s called at Disney, now that they’ve adopted the Pixar story development process known ...

Why do audiences groan when they hear the word sequel, but still everyone turns out in droves to see the film? Because people love characters. And if the first film was a success – much like the animated movie How to Train Your Dragon was –audiences want more of what they fell in love with the first time.
Writer and director Dean DeBlois, who ...

The beloved brainiac dog of the 60s, Mr. Peabody, returns for his very own feature film along with his son Sherman. The silly time travel movie with a heart-warming father and son story is not the typical subject matter for TV writer Craig Wright, who wrote Mr. Peabody & Sherman.
Wright’s other credits include dark and meandering dramas ...

The beloved brainiac dog of the 60s, Mr. Peabody, returns for his very own feature film along with his son Sherman. The silly time travel movie with a heart-warming father and son story is not the typical subject matter for TV writer Craig Wright, who wrote Mr. Peabody & Sherman.
Wright’s other credits include dark and meandering dramas ...

How do you go from writing a hard R-rated film like Horrible Bosses to PG-13 magic movie like The Incredible Burt Wonderstone to an animation film with walking food? Very carefully, says Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2 screenwriters John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein.
“The process in animation is obviously very different from ...

The minions are back! And they’re ready for their sequel in the newest animation feature, Despicable Me 2.
Screenwriters Ken Daurio and Cinco Paul (Hop, The Lorax) were called back to write the second iteration of the enormously successful film Despicable Me, the story of an uber villain who ends up adopting three little girls.
So, the ...

The minions are back! And they’re ready for their sequel in the newest animation feature, Despicable Me 2.
Screenwriters Ken Daurio and Cinco Paul (Hop, The Lorax) were called back to write the second iteration of the enormously successful film Despicable Me, the story of an uber villain who ends up adopting three little girls.
So, the ...